Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged people to continue wearing face masks even though the country has administered 100 crore COVID-19 vaccine doses.
In his address congratulating the nation on crossing 100 crore total vaccine doses, Modi said that wearing masks in public should become a habit like wearing shoes when stepping out of the house.
On 21st October, India crossed the 100 crore vaccine doses landmark 279 days after launching its vaccination drive on January 16, 2021. It is the second country after China (223 crore doses) to cross the landmark.
India has fully vaccinate over 29.12 crore people which accounts for 21 per cent of the population. China has fully vaccinated 75 per cent of its population.
Thanking the nation for the landmark and terming it as an example of 'Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas' policy, Modi said that India's achievement was a befitting answer to those who doubted India's ability to vaccinate its population.
Modi also spoke about India's economy stating while urging citizens to support local industries by buying made in India products.
Modi claimed that India's economy is growing with record investments being made in Indian companies leading to new employment opportunities.
"Experts and many agencies from home and abroad are very positive about India's economy. Not only record investment is coming in Indian companies but new employment opportunities are also being created for the youth." Modi said.
However, the three big rating agencies of Standard & Poor's, Moody's and Fitch have kept India at the lowest investment grade.
Moody's downgraded India's sovereign rating from 'Baa2' to 'Baa3' stating that India will face challenges in implementing of policies to mitigate risks of a sustained period of low growth and deteriorating fiscal position. However, it upgraded India's outlook from negative to stable.
S&P affirmed India's sovereign rating at "BBB-" and maintained a stable outlook while Fitch affirmed India at "BBB-" with a negative outlook.
India's 2021 Economic Survey had urged credit rating agencies to amend their rating methodology to "reflect economies' ability and willingness to pay their debt obligations" stating that the ratings do not capture India's fundamentals.
Conversely India's unemployment rate has dropped in the past year supporting Modi's claims of job creation.
The Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy found that India's unemployment rate fell to 6.86 per cent in September 2021 compared to 8.32 percent in August with 8.5 million jobs were created in the month.
Watch PM Modi's address to the nation below
